I need to create a menu for a video, which will be written onto a disk not in a DVD format, but as a single file (f.e. mp4). The problem is that programs such as Adobe Encore are not able (as far as I'm concerned) to create a 'standalone' menus (executable-like). What is the recommended way to do such a thing?

Hmm, I learned something new today. I didn't even know this was possible before today, but apparently it is part of the MP4 spec. This doom9 thread has some discussion, but isn't really all that user friendly. Hopefully someone has more experience with this and can offer some advice. I'm curious too.
– AJ Henderson♦Oct 28 '14 at 14:25

I'm sure I remember reading about plans to implement this in Matroska, but I don't think that went anywhere... and, of course, you'll run into the problem that no players will be able to use the menus, probably. Interesting problem, though.
– evilsoupOct 28 '14 at 15:12

1 Answer
1

Looking at what Mr Henderson was saying, it appears you will need to have some basic programming skills to do what you want. The system he provided a link to appears to be based off of a markup language (similar to HTML if you've used that). If you aren't afraid to get your hands dirty with some basic programming that would be the way to go.
(details here: http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66583)

Alternatively you could use Encore and create an image (ISO) of the DVD, but I'm not sure if it's possible to run a disk image independently of a disk.

I will play around with Adobe Encore tomorrow and see if there is a way to export a standalone menu.

It is possible to run a disk image in many DVD player applications, but I didn't get the impression that would meet the OPs requirements. If it does, it simplified things considerably though, so probably worth seeking clarification over.
– AJ Henderson♦Oct 28 '14 at 19:55